Students' Motivation toward Laboratory Work in Physiology Teaching

Autor/inn/en	Dohn, Niels Bonderup; Fago, Angela; Overgaard, Johannes; Madsen, Peter Teglberg; Malte, Hans
Titel	Students' Motivation toward Laboratory Work in Physiology Teaching
Quelle	In: Advances in Physiology Education, 40 (2016) 3, S.313-318 (6 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1043-4046
DOI	10.1152/advan.00029.2016
Schlagwörter	Physiology; Science Instruction; Teaching Methods; Correlation; Student Motivation; Animals; Scientific Research; Academic Achievement; Self Efficacy; Student Interests; Science Laboratories; Measures (Individuals); Role; Scientific Concepts; Concept Formation; Video Technology; Computer Simulation; Course Descriptions; Zoology; Foreign Countries; Student Attitudes; Factor Analysis; Statistical Analysis; Undergraduate Students; Denmark + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physiologie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Korrelation; Schulische Motivation; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Schulleistung; Self-efficacy; Selbstwirksamkeit; Studieninteresse; Messdaten; Rollen; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Computergrafik; Computersimulation; Kursstrukturplan; Zoologie; Ausland; Schülerverhalten; Faktorenanalyse; Statistische Analyse; Dänemark
Abstract	The laboratory has been given a central role in physiology education, and teachers report that it is motivating for students to undertake experimental work on live animals or measuring physiological responses on the students themselves. Since motivation is a critical variable for academic learning and achievement, then we must concern ourselves with questions that examine how students engage in laboratory work and persist at such activities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how laboratory work influences student motivation in physiology. We administered the Lab Motivation Scale to assess our students' levels of interest, willingness to engage (effort), and confidence in understanding (self-efficacy). We also asked students about the role of laboratory work for their own learning and their experience in the physiology laboratory. Our results documented high levels of interest, effort, and self-efficacy among the students. Correlation analyses were performed on the three motivation scales and exam results, yet a significant correlation was only found between self-efficacy in laboratory work and academic performance at the final exam. However, almost all students reported that laboratory work was very important for learning difficult concepts and physiological processes (e.g., action potential), as the hands-on experiences gave a more concrete idea of the learning content and made the content easier to remember. These results have implications for classroom practice as biology students find laboratory exercises highly motivating, despite their different personal interests and subject preferences. This highlights the importance of not replacing laboratory work by other nonpractical approaches, for example, video demonstrations or computer simulations. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01